Research Lab Party Tips & Ideas for hosting in your research lab Ambiance & Décor • Stacked Eppendorf tube racks make great colorful accent pieces. • Practice cable organization skills by designing a centerpiece in a variety of cable colors. Alternatively, consider setting up a live stream of your server room for all guests to enjoy. • Feeling extra groovy, make a Lava Lamp with a stir plate, oil, H2O, food coloring, and 2 L graduated. Really make is shine, by adding lighting from behind or underneath. • Need something to jazz up boring walls or cover unorganized lab shelves? Use lab gloves to make festive balloons. Make it extra festive by using different colored gloves. • No need to pay for expensive floral centerpieces, simply collect plant cuttings from landscaping near your lab. Put the cuttings in round bottom flasks suspended from a ring stand. Larger plant clipping can be used to hid ugly clamps or rusty ring stands.
Food & Drink • Using a catering is strongly recommended as it frees up the host to entertain guests and ensures guests don’t get food poising. Hot plates, Bunsen burners, and incubators can be used to keep food warm. • Short on food? o Use an autoclave to cook or re-heat food., To cook food in an autoclave, use the lowest settings and half the cooking time of Instapot recipes. Warning: This is very roughly estimated and possibly not to be trusted o Other ideas: Lab Rat-tat-touille, Petri dish surprise, Leftover maze cheese fondue, or get creative with your favorite Laboratory Animal Diet feed. • If you plan to serve coffee, make sure you’ve cleaned your coffee maker recently. Alternatively, use a funnel and filter paper to make pour over coffee. • Flasks and beakers make attractive cocktail glasses. Use stir bars/plates to mix cocktails or provide guests with glass stirring rods. • Round bottom flasks are a good option for serving aperitifs (such as Aperol or Campari) and digestifs (such as Fernet Branca or Averna). Just make sure you have enough holders for guests. • Watch glasses and evaporating dishes make nice appetizer/tapas plates.
48
